31 December 2024

For a fourth year, the FAA has allocated nearly $3 billion to 25 U.S. airports including the Southwest Oregon Regional Airport (OTH). To date, nearly $12 billion in Airport Infrastructure Grant (AIG) funding has made its way to airports across the country to be invested in runways, taxiways, safety and sustainability projects, terminals, and airport-transit connections.

This round includes $300 thousand additional AIG funding for OTH for each of the next two fiscal years. Over the past 3 years, OTH has received more than $3 million from the AIG program, which has been expended towards enhancing aircraft parking, including the construction of a new 115,000 sf apron, completed in 2023. The first phase of the Legacy Apron Reconstruction Project rebuilt a total of 27,000 sf of the 300 thousand square feet of the World War II-era apron. Rebuilding the rest will run an estimated $20 million.

The Legacy Apron is the largest area used to park and store aircraft much like it was when it housed military planes. But the aircraft using the apron are now larger and heavier. Construction standards are also much different today than they were in 1946 when the concrete apron was built. The apron is extremely important for serving general aviation traffic during peak travel seasons.

In total, the airport has received just over $3 million for infrastructure improvements since the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and AIG were approved. The Southwest Oregon Regional Airport, the Rogue Valley International Airport, and 15 non-primary airports received the second-round funding. A total of $9.3 million was awarded to Oregon airports.